Mikveh

Mikveh (Hebrew mikveh, מִקְוֶה or מקווה, majority Mikwaot מִקְוֶוֹת or מִקְוָאות flow together from קוה ), formerly German Judenbad called in Judaism during immersion, which serves the purification of ritual impurity by ablution.

The water of a mikveh must be living water. Therefore, in many places Grundwassermikwaot were built, which were mostly below the earth at the height of the local water table. Today, often rain water will be used.

History

Formerly belonged to every Jewish community, a ritual bath. In Germany can be today at over 400 locations - for example, in Andernach, Busenberg, Friedberg (Hessen), Erfurt, Cologne, Peter Hagen, Special Oberhausen, Speyer, Worms - Mikwaot prove. In the mikveh in Rotenburg an der Fulda was found next to a modern swimming pool (1835/1925) a Grundwassertauchbad from the 17th century and a separate slot for Kaschern of kitchen appliances. A obtained from several Mikwaot in Fuerth, which was called the "Franconian Jerusalem " is to visit francs at the Jewish Museum. The Kellermikwe from the 13th century, which was found in Sondershausen, is one of the oldest evidence of Judaism in Thuringia.

Rules and Traditions

The mikvah is not hygiene, with the immersion in a pickling bath is not clean, but the ritual, actually cultic purity can be produced. As ritually unclean according to Jewish tradition, for example, are dead. Those who come into contact with a dead body, thereby unclean and had, at the time of the Temple in Jerusalem, to cleanse them from this impurity. Certain body fluids cause impurity.

Orthodox, Conservative and Liberal Judaism

In Orthodox and Conservative Judaism, a visit to the mikvah is required if a married woman has her menstrual or childbirth behind. The first visit to the mikvah completed the woman as bride, usually on the eve of the wedding day. This event they traditionally spent with girlfriends and female members of the family. The commandment " Nidda we ' Twila ' (separation time and immersion in the mikveh ) applies, as soon as a Jewish woman with a man has or wants to have - regardless of the status of the relationship.

The immersion in the mikveh is for a conversion to Judaism, the Orthodox, Conservative and liberal direction for both men and women condition. Of this derives historically from the Christian baptism.

In the ritual cleansing nothing foreign to the body may be. The full contact of pure water with the body may not prevent anything, so any kind of clothing and jewelry, lipstick, nail polish and the like are to be filed before bathing. It must also be ensured that the entire body is submerged, along with the hair. The process of complete submergence is called Tewila or Twila (Hebrew טְבִילָה ).

A sofer ( scribe religious writings ) is obliged to put himself through immersion in the mikveh in a state of complete ritual purity before God's name as written in a Torah scroll. Otherwise, the visit to the mikvah is now prescribed only for women. In the ultra-Orthodox Judaism, mikvah but partly also used by men before the start of the Sabbath or holidays, especially before the Day of Atonement, to submerge.

In addition, the Mikvah is also used to kaschern of dishes, usually in a separate pool.

If no mikveh present, the duty to submerge in the sea, in a lake, a river or a deeper stream can be met.

Reform Judaism

Although a visit to the mikvah is also prescribed in the conservative or liberal Judaism for women, the custom is practically followed by only strictly Orthodox women. Recently, there are efforts to promote visiting the mikveh also not strictly religious women - even in Reform Judaism, American-style, which traditionally has no mikveh. Also new, is not justified in the Halacha uses of the mikvah be created, resulting in some places to build new Mikwaot.

Current situation in Germany

Today's mikvaot are modern heated baths, of which there are currently about 30 are in the more than 100 Jewish communities in Germany.

In Berlin there are two functioning mikvahs, a one in Oranienburger Strasse, which receives its water from a water tank on the roof. Beside the Orthodox Synagogue in Joachimstalerstraße in which the water from 42 m depth is pumped up, and

The recently newly built synagogues usually also have a dip. In Bad Segeberg in Schleswig -Holstein, with a Jewish congregation of 150 members, has since 2002 a synagogue with a mikveh. The construction was made possible by the foundation " of Holstein heart." It is operated mikveh not with reason, but with rain water. In Konstanz, where once the community members used the Bodensee for their ritual baths, a mikveh was inaugurated in the summer of 2008. The 300,000 -euro construction was privately financed. The water comes from a catch basin for rain water on the roof of the building.